In 1962 my Uncle Robert took me on a visit to Motherwell engine shed.
Robert was a friend of the Shed Foreman and we were invited into the driver’s bothy (hut) for a mug of tea and a Scots pie. Then I was ushered over to the shed pilot, a Dugald Drummond 0-6-0 freight engine of 1883 which at this time was being phased out to be replaced by diesels. The Winter of 1962 was severe in the extreme and all the Clayton diesels had their crankshafts seize up and so the ‘Jumbos’ as they were called were pressed back into service for another year. I was then allowed with supervision to drive the loco up and down the shed yard. This simply would not be allowed in these days of health and safety.
This picture commemorates that momentous day which I have never forgotten.
